-
10 Questions with ... Dan Buckley
October 26, 2020
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
In the summer of ’97 I was known as intern Dan around the station and was setting up our Friday morning show broadcast at Hard Rock in Nashville. My dad had told me to do whatever no one else wanted to and do it with a smile. This mantra got me hired and promoted to LT. Dan over 20 years ago. In 2001 they let me take over the production department for Lightning 100 and 93.7 The Phoenix. In 2014, I got APD stripes and have been PD since 2015.
For years I did freelance production on the side for syndicated radio programs, the Tennessee Titans, and Bonnaroo. I ran the interview studio at Bonnaroo from 2004 to 2018 and still have a wedding and event DJ business on the side, to pay for my habit of having so many children. They are 16, 15, 12, and 7, for those keeping score.
1. How did you become interested in radio?
I moved to Nashville and fell in love with Lightning 100. I had no idea radio could be this good. I actually talked my way into an internship at first with our former alternative sister station, Thunder 94. I used to call in with bits for their morning show all the time.
2. How would you describe the music on the station?
It’s national acts, side by side, with regional and local acts. We are not afraid to play classic artists, we just work hard to go deeper into their catalogue and not just play the hits. We are playing lots of new music as well and are always on the hunt for the next great song, artist, or band.
3. Congratulations on Lightning 100 winning the JBE SummitFest Station Of The Year award this year! Tell us about how you and staff reacted.
It was a much-needed win. Nashville got hit with an awful tornado and COVID was just kicking us when we were down. We work hard and are a smaller team than ever, so getting the recognition is energizing as we start planning our 30th anniversary celebration before years end.
4. The station is getting ready to celebrate its 30th birthday Thanksgiving Weekend! Tell us about what you have planned.
For 30 years, Lightning 100 has served the Nashville Music Community, maintaining its fierce independence from corporate radio. We've blazed trails musically for three decades and this Thanksgiving we are ready to celebrate! In a year where it's more challenging than ever to find things to be thankful for, we will be finding gratitude with good music for five days staring Thanksgiving Morning. Taking a trip down memory lane and deep diving into "Radio Lightning's" rich musical past.
5. Nashville is going through a major renaissance, tell us how that has affected the way you are programming the radio station.
We were supporting local long before consultants were writing articles about how local radio will be what survives. We exist in the perfect time and place to play more local music than any other commercial station in the country. The Nashville renaissance knows no boundaries. It’s rock, pop, alt and everything else you can imagine. The more we support it, the better and healthier the scene becomes. That said, it troubles me to write those words, as I know so many acts that are taking a break and picking up a day job until touring can resume.
6. With the restrictions due the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, tell us how the station came up with a new approach to your highly successful, traditional benchmark promotion Live On The Green.
We waited until the last minute to commit to a virtual fest and would have loved with all our hearts to safely pull off an in-person event. Our business model is based on getting a maximum number of people to eat and drink and party with us, and we knew that just couldn’t happen. Instead, we brought the festival to the safety of everyone's home and backyard. I had my stereo cranked all weekend and it was Live on MY Green! Over 130 bands took the stage with live music from 6a-3a five days in a row, all Labor Day Weekend. From full concerts by Bruce Springsteen and Beck to Moon Taxi and Metallica, we broke all the rules and had our highest streaming numbers in our 30-year history!
7. What other things has the station been doing to support the community during the pandemic?
We help give a voice to a lot of charities. Just like everything else, their fundraisers have been cancelled or pushed online. Just last week we partnered with Our Kids, which provides 24/7 counseling for abused children, raising $100,000 in 100 hours. If we can’t help better our community, whether it be musicians or non-profits, why bother with any of it? We might as well get real jobs, hate what we do, and make a whole bunch of money.
8. What are some of your biggest challenges as an independent station?
We don’t have the budget to buy billboards all over town, we don’t have some big corporation promoting us or sending us sales leads. We have to earn every inch.
9. What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?
We need to be willing to rethink the whole thing. You’re either playing the hits or breaking them. We are in the business of breaking them, which takes a lot of work and a great team. You can’t just sit back and wait for people to pitch songs; you need to be scouring the internet, going to shows, and talking to friends and listeners. No complacency allowed. (Remember going to shows?)
10. What is one of your pet peeves?
People who take credit for things that it takes a team to pull off. We are #TeamLightning and I am nothing without my co-workers and listeners.
Bonus Questions
First real job:
Busboy for Outback Steakhouse.
Last concert:
Crowdless Nashville Sunday Night with Delta Spirit
Favorite album of all-time:
Workingman’s Dead (studio) or Europe ‘72 (live)
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Being in the water. Ocean, Pool, Lake, Creek, etc. Swimming, Floating, Boating, Lazy river, anything.
-
-